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Concept Monergism
Books. Rear Design by Tony Reinke.
Availability: Usually ships the same business day.
Description:
With the recent resurgence of interest
Reformation theology, many
search for ways to expose the world to the doctrines of grace. This
T-shirt piques the interest of
onlookers and provides an excellent bridge for introducing the Biblical beliefs
recovered and heralded during the Reformation. When you wear the T-Shirt you
help spread the word about Monergism.com to those who see the logo on the front of your
shirt. This T-Shirt focuses the onlookers' attention to the biblical doctrine of
particular redemption (AKA Limited Atonement). The back of the shirt bears of
one of the most important Texts in the entire Bible.
The following short exposition of Revelation 5 will show you why
we think this text is so critical:
""Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its
seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for
God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10and you have made them a kingdom and priests
to our God,
and they shall reign on the
earth."
The scope of Christ's work of redemption is both universal and
particular: universal because it includes people of every ethnicity and nation;
particular because Christ redeems a people for Himself from out of these
nations, having had an eye for a remnant of mankind from every tribe. Here is
the climax of God's redemptive purpose, fulfilling God's covenant to Abraham to
bless the children of promise through his seed (Gen 12:2; Rom 9:6-13). This is
why God has commanded the church to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth
(Matt 28:18, 19) that He might gather those he has set apart for Himself in
every city and town (Acts 18:10; John 17:9, 20)
The great, ultimate, and final exodus is here being declared in
song. Three (3) reasons to define the lamb's worthiness to open the scroll
1) You were slain,
2) With your blood your purchased men
for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. (That is the
meaning of the event). and
3) (v10.) You have made them to be a kingdom
of priests and to reign on the earth. (That is the consequence of the event).
What is actually in view here? It is the final exodus and the
ultimate, eternal establishment of a covenantal relationship between God and His
people. It is what we see at the end of the Revelation. "Now I will be their God
and they will be my people..." This event also uses language similar to the
Exodus of the Jews. It not only points forward to the final consummation but
also points back to that Passover event. This passage actually lifts language
from the Book of Exodus, interpreting its ultimate meaning. What actually took
place on the evening of the first Passover? A lamb was slain and painted on the
doorposts of every Jewish home. That was the event. But what was the meaning of
that event?. The Text is clear. The purchase of the firstborn for God. The
firstborn in Israel were just as guilty as any Egyptian. The Jews were not saved
because they were more righteous than anyone else. They were saved because God
made them a provision of atonement. They too were liable to the death blow of
the angel, but were purchased by the blood of an unblemished sacrifice that
pointed to the ultimate sacrifice. To what end, and with what final consequence
in mind? In their language: "That out of all the nations of the world they would
become the personal possession of God, purchased out of Egypt to be made a
kingdom and priests" (Ex 19).
If we let the Bible interpret itself, in
Revelation 5, God's promise to Israel is brought to its consummate realization.
What was prefigured in the events of the Exodus is now realized in the
redemption that has been secured by Jesus Christ.
Firstly, the
event itself: His blood was shed as a sacrificial lamb.
Secondly, the meaning of the event: with his blood he purchased
for God people out of all the nations of the earth.
Thirdly,
the consequence of that event: That these same people would be a kingdom and
priests. This is Revelation interpreting Exodus. These persons share with the
lamb the royal right to rule and the priestly right to draw near to God in
intimacy. We do not replace Israel but we are Israel fulfilled in Christ because
Jesus is the remnant of one (not replacement, expansion). This is how the book
begins, "To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and has
made us to be a kingdom and priests." This is the language of the NT
interpreting the Old Testament. Philippians says we are the true circumcision;
Galatians says we are the children of Abraham. We are the holy nation, we are
the priesthood, we are the chosen people; we are the nation belonging to God. It
is the ultimate and final exodus. It was dimly prefigured by Israel in the
wilderness.
In the Old Testament book of Exodus the Lord says, "If you will
indeed obey my covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the
people and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Exod
19:5-6). But no one in all creation was able to perfectly obey this covenant, as
it is emphasized in this passage, showing that no one was worthy to open the
scroll (mentioned in Revelation 5:2-4) with the exception of one man: "Who is
worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" And no one in heaven or on earth
or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began
to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look
into it. And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of
the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the
scroll and its seven seals." So it is in Jesus Christ alone that we participate
in the fulfillment of this covenant and are to be made a kingdom of priests. But
who are those who are in Jesus Christ?
Structurally Revelation 5:9 fits
into the central place so arguably it is the most important. 3 things to
notice:
1)
A Bloody Sacrifice. the blood of Jesus. It is
a metonym for his life violently and sacrificially ended. You were slain. This
is the instrument by which we were purchased. A life outpoured.
2)
An Effectual Sacrifice. That is to say, by the means of this
sacrifice something specific transpired. Something was actually accomplished.
What was that? That a group of people was purchased for God. Who? Human beings
from every tribe, people, language, nation. These are synonyms. Why four words
in the place of one. This is a literary device commonly used in apocalyptic
literature. The use of fours often imagined picking up all the nations by its
corners so that nothing is missed. In the greater (final) exodus not only ethnic
Israel purchased by the sacrificial lamb, all the nations without exception are
in view. Yet at the same time precision would demand that we recognize the
specificity in view here. What was purchased? Look carefully. What was purchased
by the blood of Jesus Christ? Not every tribe, and people and nation, but people
OUT OF every tribe and language and people and nation. Not all
nations but people
from all nations. In other words, not all
without exception, rather all without distinction. It is a universal sacrifice
in that there was not one nation exempted from this purchase. It was a
particular sacrifice in the sense in that what is in view is not all nations
collectively but all nations representatively. This is the passage that send
William Carey to India. "I know there are people ordained to eternal life there"
because He purchased people out of every tribe and nations. In His sacrifice the
text is clear. He got what He paid for. Nothing here about who He purchased
potentially. Rather human beings purchased in effect for God out of every tribe,
nation, language and people.
3)
A Purposeful Sacrifice.
Purchased men for God. We often think of salvation in terms of ourselves, but to
the contrary the blood of Jesus Christ for God, for Him, to serve His purpose.
And what is that? v 10 - "and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our
God, and they shall reign on the earth." This is why he is worthy, a bloody
effectual and purposeful sacrifice.
Concepts from Art Azurdia and Dennis Johnson
May you, too, be inspired and blessed by the truths conveyed on
this shirt each time you wear it. And may your whole life be lived in loving
obedience to our blessed Savior Jesus Christ.
Specifications: Shirts are
pre-shrunk and WILL NOT SHRINK! They are Haynes Beefy-Ts. These shirts last for
years of wear - not a few months. The shirt is printed with high quality
graphics. This shirt is professionally designed and crafted. The quality of our
shirt is the best constructed and heaviest weight of cotton on the market. It is
100% Cotton PRESHRUNK (i.e. does not shrink).
